Exacter Data Analytics Showing Large Storms Have Impact on the Nation’s Powe r Grid Years After Repairs Have Been Made

COLUMBUS, OH, United States, via ETELIGIS INC., 03/10/2015 – – New trended field data from Exacter, Inc., a grid reliability and analytics company that serves the nations electric utilities, is showing a correlation between significant weather-related outage events and the subsequent near-term health of the overhead grid. “In our post-storm analysis for a number of US utilities, we are seeing a clear, measurable correlation between Major Event Days (MEDs) caused by severe weather and the reliability measurements of those utilities over the next two years,” states Geoffrey Bibo, Exacter President. “We’ve noticed that despite repairs and restoration of power after the storm, severe weather events take a toll on the overhead system and it shows up in increased CMI and SAIDI.” http://www.exacterinc.com/storm-analysis

Exacter’s field data analytics are noteworthy because they confirm what many have believed for a long time that major storms have a significant non-visible impact on grid health even after complete system restoration. “There is unseen, unidentified damage to a system after a MED that eventually emerges in the form of equipment failure,” continued Bibo. “The high winds, moisture, ice, and extreme temperatures that were part of the MED have broad impact on individual system components, even if they do not manifest in the form of an immediate outage.”

The Whitehouse 2013 Executive Report on “The Economic Benefits of Grid Resilience to Weather Outages” http://www.exacterinc.com/resources/uploaded/Whitehouse%20-%20Grid%20Resilliency%20Report-1.pdf was clear in its assessment that severe weather is on the rise, and the grid infrastructure is aging and vulnerable — with over 70% of its conductors and transformers more than 25 years old. They believe attaining grid resiliency will require significant investment to strengthen the overhead infrastructure against future storms. “We see a huge potential for utilities to impact grid resiliency in a measured, targeted approach by using post-storm analytics to identify those portions of the grid that have been weakened and are most vulnerable to failure,” states Exacter Founder and CEO, John Lauletta. “With Exacter post-storm analysis data, utilities can not only quantify the specific impact of MEDs on system health, but also have an actionable strategic tool to direct resources to those weakened areas of the system that would impact the most customers and overall grid resiliency.”

Exacter’s proprietary technology detects the unseen weakened conditions on overhead and has been used by over 100 utilities to identify opportunities for improving reliability. Exacter has surveyed over 2.5 million poles, holds multiple U.S. and worldwide patents, and has conducted joint research projects with The Ohio State University High Voltage Laboratory and the University of Akron Wright Center for Smart Sensors.

“Utilities have very accurate metrics on the damage and repairs that have been made to restore the system, however, they do not know the unseen, lurking issues exacerbated by the storm,” continued Lauletta. “That is the data we provide. When you add the two numbers together, you have a very accurate picture of storm impact – not to mention actionable data for prioritizing future grid resiliency improvements.

As storm season approaches, Exacter is looking to engage with more utilities to provide benchmark data that can be used to better understand the impact of severe weather on the grid, as well as accurately measure post-storm impact. Exacter conducts an educational webinar that shows the value and application of pre-storm and post-storm analytics and shows the impact of MEDs on reliability. Utilities interested in obtaining this type of data should contact Exacter to arrange a private or public online webinar.

Exacter, Inc (http://www.exacterinc.com/) was founded in 2006 and performs electrical grid condition-assessments to address reliability and provide predictive maintenance analytics. Exacter’s process and information has been instrumental in a variety of reliability, Smart Grid, and system-hardening programs around the world.